The subject matter disclosed herein relates to compressor blades, and more particularly to a mounting arrangement for such compressor blades.
With the ever present need for higher performance and efficiency for gas turbine engines, compressor exit temperatures have increased over time. Aft stages of a compressor may be highly stressed as a result of such thermal exposure. Compressor blade attachments in the aft stages are subjected to hot flowpath gases that may have adverse effects on durability. In particular, a reduced low cycle fatigue (LCF) life is observed in highly stressed loading slots located along a wheel of the compressor. The loading slots along the aft end of the compressor are often the life limiting location on the entire rotor. High stresses in the aft stages are a product of mechanical stress due to rotation and thermal stress due to temperature gradients. Several attempts to overcome the issues associated with the high stresses discussed above have focused on reducing mechanical stress, such as reducing or eliminating the loading slot or employing more expensive material. An option commonly used to reduce the thermal stress and temperature exposure is to cool the wheel rims with air from an external cooling air skid. These options can add significant cost and complexity to each engine.